Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
You’ve probably dismissed Pinterest if: 1) you’re a guy; 2) you’re not lured in by eye candy; 3) you don’t think it’s utilitarian. New data indicate you might want to reevaluate.
Pinterest was launched five years ago, and by now most of us have checked it out and either embraced it or shrugged our shoulders and walked away. But it might well be worth a second look.
The latest data show that the fastest growing segment of the 100 million “pinners” is men. As a matter of fact, more men are on Pinterest than subscribe to GQ and Sports Illustrated combined. To see what guys’ pins look like, check out this sampling.
And Pinterest isn’t just about looking at pleasing pics; it has a practical side to it. The way most pinners use Pinterest is to plan the future–and future purchases. Evan Sharp, one of the founders of Pinterest, describe its function this way in The Atlantic interview: “Today, I define it as a place where people can go to get ideas for any project or interest in their life. 
And as you encounter great ideas and discover new things that you didn’t even know were out there, you can pin them and make them part of your life through our system of boards. Best of all, as you’re creating a board on Pinterest, other people can get inspiration from your ideas, so there’s this cycle where what you’re creating for yourself also helps other people make their lives.”
Individuals are using Pinterest to plan weddings, baby’s first birthday party, books they want to read, etc. As they build boards of their dreams, they are snagging images from websites and storing links back to those sites. And then….when it’s Dream-Come-True-Time, they might well click on those and…buy the item. That makes Pinterest a useful tool for authors to sell their books.
Sharp understands how significant Pinterest can be to a company (or person) who uses the site to sell. “The reason retail feels like an obvious fit for us is that you’re doing on Pinterest what you do in a store, browsing through things and picking out the things you like, saving them for later, and maybe eventually buying them.”
Another practical aspect of Pinterest is that its major function is to discover something you didn’t know about. Since one of an author’s biggest challenges today is having his or her work discovered, uh, doesn’t that suggest Pinterest is a good place to be?
Sharp explains Pinterest’s core function this way–as opposed to Google’s function, which is to search for text: “Discovery, which is different from search, is a very human process. We’re not building a machine that answers questions…We’re helping you discover the things you like. And part of that is you literally going through the process of discovering them. Yes this, not this, yes this, not this.”
In essence, the millions of pinners are indexing the world’s objects based on what they like. By 2014 they had indexed 30 billion objects.
While that might suggest it’s impossible for your object to be found, you can help to direct people to your book cover, for example. Sharp points out that one of amazing ways Pinterest functions is that individuals pin what interests them and categorize them in the way that the item interests them. That means that the right keywords can lead more people to your cover. (To find out more about choosing those words, see this article.)
So let’s say your book cover showcases a stunning red dress on a hangar. One person might pin your book cover under “Things That are Red” while someone else would pin your cover on a board named “Romantic Dresses.” A third person could pin it on a board that’s a collection of “Beautiful Book Covers.” Then, when Person #4 is building a board of types of dresses she wants to buy, if she searches for “red dress,” she could discover your book cover on two different boards.
As a matter of fact, your books or other items from your website might already be pinned. You can find out by typing your site name into the following URL: pinterest.com/source/SiteName.com and replace “SiteName.”
For you nonvisual types, here’s the best news of all: A pin doesn’t have to be a picture. One of the easiest items for you to pin is your blog posts. Lists do well on Pinterest, too. And so do Infographics. It’s possible to gain additional readers of your material and connect them to your website via Pinterest without using pictures.
For specific steps to create an effective presence on Pinterest, see BuzzSumo’s article here.
TWEETABLES
More men are on Pinterest than subscribe to GQ and Sports Illustrated combined. Click to tweet.
If you’re a writer, should you give Pinterest a second look? Click to tweet.
Pinterest’s major use is planning. Click to tweet.
Interesting information, and it certainly does seem like a good resource for authors. But not, I fear, for me, save pinning blog posts.
* First, there simply not enough time; I can’t stretch the hours of available energy far enough. I’ve had to be severe about prioritizing, and since my blog has found something of a niche and resonance with a fairly wide audience, it’s my first responsibility. I can justify pinning blog posts, but not spending more time there. My WIPs come second, and developing a FB and Twitter presence, third.
* Second, I suspect that Pinterest is or will soon be ‘flooded’, much as FB is, and the search for exposure will face very still competition. I’m not sure that the ‘percentages’, even now, favour participation,
* Third, taste and cultural conformity are most evident in visuals…and I have to admit that my reaction to the ‘guy stuff’ never got past “what a waste of time”. I have about the same sense of fun and frivolity as does a Kalashnikov, and on Pinterest that serious-as-a-heart-attack persona would be magnified. (There are those who say that if I smiled my face would crack; why take the chance?)
* If I WERE going to give Pinterest a serious go, I would begin with a serious (!) study of visual advertising and effective graphic design; David Ogilvy’s “Ogilvy on Advertising” is a classic, and will never be out of date.
* I’d also look at the technology and effect of subliminal cues; this may seem like ‘cheating’ (it does have a faint whiff of that for me) but the fact remains that trying to sell books IS advertising, and going into the arena without all of the available tools is just silly. I’m certainly not suggesting the “subliminal sex sells” approach, but there are family-friendly ways to give a viewer a good feeling about what she or he is looking at through the use of subliminal methods.
* Finally, I’d create boards that would help a potential reader get to know me, rather than making it all about the book or its ambiance. Kind of like building a North Korean personality cult…well, no, but if you like the author, you’re going to be predisposed to liking the book.
That’s a well thought out strategy, Andrew. You’re weighing you can gain against what it would cost you in time and energy as well as considering your personality. Pinterest isn’t for everyone; I’d be among the first to say it. Just as Twitter isn’t for everyone, or Instagram.
It doesn’t take that much time to pin a blog post. Less than a minute.
I’ve been using Pinterest to keep track of photos for my writing projects for about two years now and have 9K pins. Curiously, my stats are 52% men, 48% women but that’s probably because I’ve got a dozen boards related to WWI and Navy board
You can see them here: https://www.pinterest.com/michelleule/
While I have boards related to all my books, I’m not sure it’s made that big a difference, though lately I’ve started a board of my blog posts. I get several pinners a week but haven’t noticed a profound difference.
One writer recently noted, however, that she gets most of her traffic from her Pinterest board, so its certainly worth considering if you have time.
Great insight here, Janet! The article on BuzzSumo’s site was very helpful.
I’ve been on Pinterest for awhile now, using it predominantly as a space for the viewer to dream. There are boards focusing on my novels in progress and the genre I write in, nostalgia, art, history, architecture, and books (children’s book illustrators being one of the most popular). Since I write fiction, is this a relevant route to take?
I shy away from practical things like recipes or DIY projects. Personally, a longer to-do list stresses me out. But maybe I’m missing the mark (although I have a little over 900 followers, so hopefully it’s a fun place to visit ;-).
Can’t wait to check back on the conversation. I have so much room for improvement in this area.
PS: Would love to know if Sarah Sundin has seen a rise in men who follow her novel boards. Sarah?
Wow, Jenni. You have 900 followers? It sounds like you’re doing something right. 🙂
Jenni is doing something right! I need lessons!! 🙂
Jeanne & Shelli, thank you for your kind words. It’s taken about four years to get to this point.
900 followers are not to be taken casually. Interesting that children’s book illustrators is so popular for you. But that board has nothing–that I can think of–connected to your writing. Now, if you could figure out what makes that board so popular and translate that to something more in sync with your own writing, you’d have something really valuable.
Janet, some of the connection on the children’s book illustrators board comes from the nostalgia it drums up. I pin images of books my prospective readers would be familiar with, whether they read the books themselves or now read them to their children and grandchildren. I’ll work on how I can better connect this to the genre I write.
I try to be very intentional with social media focused on the house as a character. Pinterest boards include Architecture, Domicile Love (spotlighting artists who use the home as their muse), and color house boards. Historical romantic suspense readers know the house is a character in and of itself (i.e. Manderley, Misselthwaite Manor, Thorfield Hall). Blogging about historic, literary, and nostalgic homes has been a fun way to connect.
Congrats on 900 followers!
Jenni – I do have a lot of male followers. Many of my boards feature WWII history, and there are a LOT of history buffs on Pinterest looking for historical images. However, the boards that have drawn the most readers for me are my “1940s Fashions” and “World War II Couples” boards. These are popular with the vintage crowd – a key demographic for me. I’ve received several messages from women who found me on Pinterest because of the fashion board, found out I wrote WWII novels, and have started reading my books.
Jenni,
That’s fabulous! You said you don’t want more on your to-do list, but if you ever do, please add social media consultant to your list!
Pinterest seems exactly opposite of my desire to simplify my life and stay focused–everything there shouts, “look at me!” I struggle with the one-more-click syndrome. Thus far, I’ve taken the “lead me not into temptation” route.
* It seems an unlikely forum to encourage others to spend more time with God. But then, God used Pharaoh, famine and fishermen to grow his kingdom.
* Dear God, guide me along the right paths for the sake of your name. Amen.
Shirlee, I took the “Lead me not into temptation” route for a long time. I’ve found that Pinterest is great place for personal resources recipes that fit my family’s very restrictive food issues) and other personal interests. I’ve also begun to see how authors can market books and get their books known. And, I’ve seen some great Christian-oriented graphics and ideas.
*I was worried I’d get hooked on it and it would become a time suck. I started by setting a timer and sticking with it. Now, I only go on it when I need to look something up. 🙂
The timer is good discipline. Jeanne. As is Jenni’s focus on relevance and Andrew’s serious study (“planning aforethought,” as he says below).
* Thank you all for the good advice.
My husband manages the FB page for a men’s ministry, and he finds that the visual meme content, with verses and images is their favorite content…no matter how much deeper content he highlights. So, I think there is something that resonates with people in seeing a picture linked with a verse…it creates some sort of emotion toward God that’s good.
Hi Janet,
I started using Pinterest to have secret boards to pin my characters, their homes and other information on my story. It did use up too much memory on my computer by pinning pictures to boards, and it helps me keep straight my characters and settings.
My son graduated from college this year, and he’s moving into the professional world. He asked me about shoe colors and suits. We went to Pinterest for our research on how to dress. (I knew from watching sports announcers that fashion has changed the last couple of years.)
I never thought about pinning my blog posts. Thanks for the great idea, and thanks for the link to buzzsumo!
Jackie, thanks for the examples of how PInterest has been useful for you. And you know, once your book is about to come out, you’d want to make your writing boards public.
Great idea. Thanks!
Janet, please correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems to me that from reading the post and comments thus far, the best thing an author can do is to look at two questions before jumping into Pinterest, as it were –
1) What can visuals and graphics say about my work?
2) What do I WANT visuals and graphics to say about me?
* I have the strong feeling that planning aforethought is vital here, far more than in blogging, FB, or Twitter, because visuals are simply processed differently, and a brand is established that much faster.
* And that said, this might be a good place to hire an image consultant! I would, were that an option.
* If the ‘faster brand establishment’ is indeed true, I am going to take a second look at this.
Andrew, it’s true that Pinterest can quickly establish a brand for you because its so visually oriented. I appreciate your flexibility in re-thinking PInterest’s potential value for you.
Janet, thank you – flexibility’s important for me, because I’m increasingly aware that my survival to write is at the pleasure of the Almighty (having to comfort a crying doctor, as I had to do this weekend, because he’s upset at giving more bad news, is certainly a singular experience).
* And as my survival is at His pleasure, so must be what I write – I owe Him every bit of flexibility and receptiveness I can bring to the job. As the awareness that my work continues by His grace, so to the awareness that faith is far more about duty, at least for me, than it is about anything else.
Hi Andrew,
I think your perspective is really interesting! I would add that it might be best to begin by thinking about where your desired audience’s interest overlap with yours, then pin those things…for example, your most recent blog posts are about marriage. If you do a pinterest search for marriage, you will find tons of topics that people are interested in related to marriage. I imagine that your perspective would be very welcome!
Thanks for your insight, Susan Moeller.
I’ve been working to discover Pinterest. I feel a bit lost there. It seems like the long-hand ticks by so fast, and I find all I’ve done is waste time. Ugh. But I’m slowly working my way through it. I didn’t think about pinning my blog posts … I’ve been working to add a few of my favorite ones just this morning. Thank you!
I visit Pinterest while “watching” a movie, since I can’t just sit there watching a movie. Otherwise, you’re correct, it becomes lost time.
I just remembered this post I wrote about Pinterest and research: http://michelleule.com/2014/02/18/pinterest-hunt-ezbekiah-gardens/
Thank you, Michelle!
Shellie,
I was going to follow you, but I couldn’t find you on Pinterest. How are you listed?
Jackie, I followed you. 🙂 I’m just listed as “Shelli Littleton” … you added an “e” to my first name … maybe that’s why I didn’t show up. I hope you can find me now. 🙂
Do you want to know that I just discovered the “home feed” page? Ha ha! I think I just swamped my few followers with at least ten of my blog posts. 🙂 Y’all, please forgive me. 🙂
Shelli, I pinned some memes from recent blogs this morning, after reading this post. 🙂
Inspiration has struck!
Sorry about adding the ‘e’ Shelli. I’m following you now.
Do read BuzzSumo’s article. I think it will help you to figure out how to approach Pinterest.
I’m glad my suggestion about loading your blog posts helped to give you some direction.
I put off getting onto Pinterest for years because some of my closest friends mentioned how addicted they were to it. Once I finally got on, I found that I really enjoyed it. And, I’ve worked to not get toooooo hooked on it. 🙂
*So far, I have used it only for personal stuff . . . recipes for my family, inspirational quotes, fashion, home decor, and the like. The biggest thing I’ve used it for is researching recipes since our family has a lot of food issues.
*That being said, I do have a secret board for my current manuscript, which I will probably make public if/when the time comes. There are a lot of ways to market on Pinterest. And a number of authors I like make boards to show their settings, character, etc. They also have their influencers Pin things related to their books. Which broadens awareness for the author.
*In the next few months, I plan to figure out how to be more intentional with Pinterest. Up to this point, it hasn’t been a priority because what time I do have has been devoted to my family, current social media places (Facebook, twitter, my blog), and writing.
*I’m heading over now to read the Buzzsumo link. Thanks for sharing this!
Jeanne … I’m glad you mentioned this about the “secret” boards. I’ve been wondering about this. I have one board for my current MS … I have very little on it but I’ve been wondering if it’s okay to have it out there. I’m sure there are different opinions. But Janet, what do you recommend? I don’t want to do the wrong thing.
Shelli, you want to build your boards until they have a lot on them. So keep them secret until they, in a sense, are like a photo album of your writing journey.
Glad you asked this, Shelli. My novel boards are public, but since they’re full, I guess that’s okay. I haven’t shifted them into the correct scene order though.
Thank you, Janet. I’ll make it secret. I feel like I’m constantly going one step forward, two steps back. 🙂
Going secret just gives you time to build it until it’s beautiful, Shelli.
Aww, Janet … that’s such a sweet way to say it … “until it’s beautiful” … I feel like I instantly took three steps forward. 🙂
Shelli,
I agree with Janet. I almost always start with “Secret” boards (private boards that only you can see) until I have a dozen or more pins on the board. That way, you don’t publish a board that’s empty or has only 1 or 2 pins (which brands you as a novice pinner). You also want to select a lovely image to use as each board’s cover. You can easily change out any board’s cover by clicking “Edit Board” and then “Change” on the Cover tab. Be sure to click Save when you’ve selected a new cover. Then refresh your screen to view the new cover.
Great tip about the board’s cover!
The great thing is that you’re a consumer of Pinterest so you have a sense of the kind of things users enjoy, how to title your boards based on what makes sense to you, etc. Now it’s a matter of translating that to your writing.
Janet, thank you for so much great information and links! I need to get my cover on Pinterest, but I’ve procrastinated because I want to get the board name right. Your link will help with that, I think. The statistics about men are fascinating although not necessarily surprising. My husband enjoys Pinterest (over my shoulder), and I wonder if it’s because men are more visual (at least according to the studies).
Meghan, yes, the links, especially BuzzSumo, will help with what to name your board. And that same article points out that you want to have a pretty full board before you make it public because it gives viewers so much more to choose from to pin themselves.
I love Pinterest. A lot of my pins are pictures that I have taken. I have pinned pictures from my two trips to France, my dog, my labyrinths along with other pins from other pictures that I have been given. I also created an Inspiration board of things that inspire me that are sayings that mean something to me. I have place on boards, books that I have read and books that I am planning to read.
Lori, you’re like a Pinterest pro! Now, to think about how you want to use the site to promote your writing…
When I saw that Morgan Busse, one of my favorite Christian authors, used pinterest to picture the settings of her novels I finally saw the value in it. Now I have a board for each story I’m working on that inspires me and collects images together for when I need to fill out the cover sheets with helpful info for my publisher. What does a Eurasian wolf look like? How about caribou skin boots or a church building in Siberia? All stuff I was able to find and collect on pinterest, so fun and inspiring.
Kristen, you’ve got a great start on your boards! I hadn’t thought about how efficient it would be to use Pinterest for the photos you’ll show to the publisher to help with cover design, but that’s a perfect application of the site.
I love Pinterest, and I have a board for each of my books and then some. Two problems: I forget to update, as in changing a pre-order link and date to ‘available now’ … and time sink! I can loose hours in Pinterest if I don’t monitor myself. I go there for information and inspiration. One of the boards that first convinced me of P’s value is Danni Pettrey’s. Looking at her images from Alaska made me feel like I was ‘in the book.’ I know P is not for everyone, but I enjoy it.
Yes, I loved Laura Frantz’s board. And Jennifer Major’s board. And so many more. I love seeing who they choose to represent their main characters.
This is great feedback for all of us regarding how you, as a reader, enjoyed author’s boards.
Thanks for explaining two of Pinterest’s challenges: keeping links and info updated, plus the time suck, which is a challenging to all types of social media.
I was a Pinterest cynic – until I joined. I did NOT want yet another social media outlet stealing my time, but I’ve found great value there.
First, it’s useful for capturing great images for the books I’m writing, from setting to outfits to historical events (I make this a secret board so I can pin useful non-public-domain pictures). When the book is published, I create a new public board and start repinning about ten images a day from my secret board to my novel board (the public domain pictures).
Second, I create a curated secret board with images for the cover design process – uniforms, dresses, insignia, setting, ships, etc. – and I add my publisher’s cover design team. They love this!
Third, I’ve found Pinterest reaches a different core of readers for me than Facebook or Twitter do. Since I write WWII fiction, I have boards for 1940s fashions, food rationing, war bonds, home front, Battle of the Atlantic, etc. At first I thought this might be fun for my readers, to see images of what I write about. What I didn’t realize is how these boards attract potential readers. I pin a cute 1940s dress. A complete stranger sees my pin, sees I have a board of 1940s fashion, and follows it. After a few days, she decides she likes my pins, checks out my profile, and sees I write WWII fiction. She loves WWII fiction! Then…she buys my book! And I never said, “BUY MY BOOK!!!” I like this kind of “marketing” 🙂
Thanks for explaining how naturally book sales have occurred for you on Pinterest. It makes sense: potential readers have points of commonality with you, which is why they found your boards to begin with. And you don’t need to do hype your books; they’re just their for people to discover.
And thank you for mentioning the important of using only public domain photos on public boards. As writers, we all need to be vigilant not to “steal” photos photographers are trying to make a living with.
I fought against Pinterest for YEARS. And then, bam. I was on it! And all in.
It’s a great way to build book profiles and I may have spent a bit too much time finding the matches for my characters. But art is suffering. Or something.
But it’s for THE WORK, okay?
Got it. It’s for the Work.
I LOVE PINTEREST! Okay, now that I got that out of my system, let me share why… 🙂
I wrote Pinterest off for a while, when I thought it was only used to find crafty ideas for your child’s next birthday party. Crafty I am NOT.
But I decided to give it a second look, and I’m so glad I did. As a wellness coach and fitness instructor, I recently expanded my writing platform and have found an amazing wealth of healthy inspiration on Pinterest. It’s become the perfect platform to inspire others and expand my voice. My once-fledgling account that struggled to get 100 followers just bumped to over 1,000 less than a year later and continues to grow. And that’s without a single “crafty” board to be found!
Once I viewed Pinterest as the amazing resource it is and embraced my own unique perspective (and lack of craftiness), it has become my go-to place to visit each week.
Thanks for sharing this relevant and insightful article, Janet!
And thank YOU for sharing how useful it’s been to locate those who share your interests–and the lack of craftiness necessary to make Pinterest work for you, Sarah.
Sarah – thanks so much for the ideas – you’ve just expanded my Pinterest vision! And I love how you specify that you don’t have to be crafty to use Pinterest – which I totally agree on because I am totally not crafty (good thing God gave me boys!). Thanks so much for sharing!
I’ve used Pinterest for my blog posts, and found it to be quite useful. But I do a lot of practical kids activities that church leaders and parents like to use, so its ideal for Pinterest. I have a page for books on Apologetics for Parents and Kids that I hope one day to have my own book featured on.
Jen, you’ve been smart in how you’ve utilized Pinterest; it’s a great fit for the types of books you write, too.
I adore Pinterest. In addition to personal stuff, I have boards on my characters, 1920s time period, places, and clothing, plus secret boards on some not-ready-for-prime-time novel ideas. Recently I added a board of “book covers I like,” with comments about which specific elements I liked or disliked, to help me articulate cover ideas to the designer. The more I use Pinterest, the more I like it.
Any social network can become addicting, spread your time thin, and distract you from what you intend to be doing — if you’re not careful. I see a lot of commenters saying they’re scared of Pinterest — or they were until they tried it and discovered how fun and helpful it is.
I particularly like the non-narcissistic nature of Pinterest — most people don’t pin images just to say “look at me,” or as a way of enticing followers to like or repin an image. They pin images because they genuinely like them and enjoy sharing them.
Plus, Pinterest can be a fantastic way to refer traffic to your website. I just checked my Google Analytics (look under Social >> Network Referrals) and Pinterest has been my #2 referral network, after Facebook, for the past year. During the past month, 24% of the social media referral traffic to my website came from my @bloggingbistro Pinterest boards. And I barely had time to use Pinterest last month! A little bit goes a long way with Pinterest.
Thanks, Laura, for encouraging us not to dismiss Pinterest. Your experience is great to show us just how effective Pinterest is. And I appreciate your comment about how non-narcissistic it is by its nature.
I created my Pinterest account because I was going to do a class on Pinterest in the computer classes I was teaching at the library where u was Adult Librarian. Well, needless to say, I love it! Although I have more boards devoted to gardening, recipes and home decor, I also follow several authors so I pin their latest books, etc.
Thanks for a very interesting post!
Janet,
Thanks for sharing this. I liked the point about the number of items that have been indexed.
Hi, I just read through these comments–such a great discussion. I have to recommend canva.com as a fabulous FREE tool to simplify the graphic/visual elements of posting…it allows you to choose appropriately sized graphic templates for each network’s specifications and offers a lot of free graphics. It also allows you to use your own photos, and provides stock photos for $1 each with a one-time use license. It has made my life so much easier, and I am probably going to ditch photoshop because Canva is so much simpler for my posting purposes. You can use it for presentations, blogs and newsletters, too.
I’ve played around with Canva and think it would be a great resource if I took the time to really figure it out.
Wow! What a fantastic community you’ve built on this blog, Janet. You might try choosing a Canva image size for Pinterest and then play around with a pre made layout. I find that helps with the “blank canvas” block. It’s fun to hear about people embracing Pinterest. One of the most powerful things you can do is check out your analytics and look at audience interests. You’ll get great ideas about what to pin to draw people to you and your book!
Thanks for your suggestions, Alisa. I’ll revisit Canva and use a pre-made layout.